Latest Benjamin Weiss Stories

Samples of moon rocks brought back by the Apollo astronauts are a gift that just keeps on giving, and a new study has shed more light on the fact that the moon once had its own magnetic field, just like the Earth has today.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A study of meteorites chipped off
the surface of Mars suggests the planet has been frozen for 4
billion years and probably never had the warm wet conditions
that could have given rise to life, two researchers said on
Thursday.

The current mean temperature on the equator of Mars is a blustery 69 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Scientists have long thought that the Red Planet was once temperate enough for water to have existed on the surface, and for life to possibly have evolved. But a new study by Caltech and MIT scientists gives this idea the cold shoulder.

Word of the Day

pawl

A pivoted catch designed to fall into a notch on a ratchet wheel so as to allow movement in only one direction (e.g. on a windlass or in a clock mechanism), or alternatively to move the wheel in one direction.